Sector Seattle change of command Thursday

SEATTLE – Coast Guard Captain Stephen P. Metruck will transfer command of Coast Guard Sector Seattle to Captain Suzanne E. Englebert in a Change of Command Ceremony that will be held at the Integrated Support Command Seattle Thursday, August 7 at 10:30 a.m.

Captain Metruck, the son of Mrs. Mary Lou Metruck and the late Stephen G. Metruck of Massena, NY, has been the Commander of Sector Seattle since 2005. Sector Seattle oversees the comprehensive maritime safety, security and marine environmental response operations throughout the Sector’s vast 3,500 square mile area of responsibility. Sector Seattle faces many challenges posed by the complexity of the Puget Sound area including numerous high risk, as well as economically and nationally significant maritime operations, including the nation’s largest ferry system, the third largest container port, 1.3 million recreational boaters, over 200 cruise ship arrivals annually, over 5,000 deep draft vessel transits annually, home to the Alaskan fishing fleet, the third largest strategic naval port and 15 billion gallons of oil products moved annually.

Captain Metruck’s next assignment will be as a Fellow on the Chief of Naval Operations Strategic Studies Group at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.

Captain Suzanne E. Englebert is reporting from Coast Guard District Seven located in Miami, FL where she served as the Chief of Prevention. Captain Englebert is a Coast Guard Academy graduate and holds an M.S.E. degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering and an M.S.E. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan.

Rear Admiral John P. Currier, Commander of the Thirteenth Coast Guard District is scheduled to preside over the ceremony.

The Change of Command Ceremony is a time-honored event preserved by the rich heritage of naval tradition. It is a custom that is formal and following military protocol is designed to strengthen the respect for the continuity of command that is vital to any military organization. The culmination of the ceremony is reached when both officers read their orders, face one another, salute, and transfer responsibility of command. This provides the entire command with the knowledge and the opportunity to witness that the officer directed by proper authority is taking command.